Isaiah
43:6b-9a, 18-21 [AMP]:
“Bring
My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth – 7 Even everyone
who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed,
whom I have made. 8 Bring
forth the blind people who have eyes and the deaf who have ears. 9Let all
the nations be gathered together and let the peoples be assembled…18 Do
not remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold,
I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not
perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I
will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The
beasts of the field honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give
waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My
people, My chosen, 21 the people I formed for Myself, that they
may set forth My praise and they shall do it.”
“7 And to the angel (messenger) of the
assembly (church) in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the Holy One,
the True One, He Who has the key of David, Who opens and no one shall shut, Who
shuts and no one shall open: 8 I know your record of
works and what you are doing. See! I have set before you a door
wide open, which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power,
and yet you have kept My Word and guarded My message and have
not renounced or denied My name. 9 Take
note! I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are
not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and
learn and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Because
you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have
held fast the lesson of My patience with the expectant endurance that I give
you], I also will keep you safe from the hour of trial (testing) which is
coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth. 11 I
am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one may rob you and deprive
you of your crown. 12 He who overcomes is victorious. I
will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God; he shall never be put out of
it or go out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God
and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which descends from My
God out of heaven, and My own new name. 13He who can hear, let him
listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the
assemblies (churches).”
*************
Through the prophet Isaiah,
God often reminded people He called them to Himself. In this passage of
Isaiah, He did that again but He add a few things. God told them He made them
for His glory. The Father told them He would do a "new thing," too.
As relayed by mouth, the
people of God told each generation - from father to child - God created
humankind. Maybe at one time that meant much to them; yet, we as readers of
Israelite history see they often forgot that one point. We note they started on
a journey with Abraham. They stacked stones, we read, as a remembrance of where
God met them and what He did. We notice they became impatient waiting for God
to “show” Himself to their blind eyes. They danced and lived with people who
bowed to other gods. In addition, we witness their repenting and returning to
God. They repeated this cycle through the generations. As God’s people, their
lives were a journey of faithfulness and unfaithfulness, of peaks and valleys
of faith. God gave them food and drink and protected them from their
enemies and themselves. As a protective Father, He slew their enemies from
other nations. The Father provided a sacrifice for the enemy - death,
which came through sin. This sacrifice is Jesus.
In another episode of
Israelite life, God said He created them for a purpose. Imagine the experience
of a child when he learns he lives because his parents wanted and loved him before
his birth. Now, imagine the Father when He was speaking to the Israelites.
He called them His sons and daughters and said He had a purpose for them. The
Israelites were not just an after-thought. God’s purpose was for them to be in
a familial relationship with Him and to bring Him glory. Would this not make a
child more apt to want to make the parents proud, knowing the parents wanted
him or her before his or her birth? I imagine this loving relationship brought
a response of love. It might have brought a response of regret when the child
did not bring glory to the family name, just as a person feels in his or her
relationship with the Father when he or she brings dishonor to God.
God did not stop loving and providing because of the Israelites’ sin and
regret. He could have left the Israelites sensing shame and remorse always, but
that was not His plan. God’s plan is for His children to be in a relationship
with Him. Yahweh states, “Behold, I am doing a new thing!” (Is 43:19a [AMP])
The Father desired their familial love, and they turned away. He would do a new
thing. God provided a better way. It was a promise, a new covenant.
Those of us who are in a
relationship with God understand this “new thing,” the better way. We who
have walked away from a close relationship to the Father know of
His better way, too. For those who do not know and have not heard, the
better way is through admitting Jesus is the Messiah, believing He died for each
of our sins, and confessing wrong doings/sins. This is the simplest way to
become a part of the family of God. Confession is not the easiest thing to do
and we will not always be obedient to give ourselves to God’s ways. We are willful,
strong-minded, and want our own ways and desires. This stubbornness on our part
creates a wall between the Father and us; yet, He does not hold that against us
and break off further relationship with us. The Father loves each of us and
calls us His children.
Consider the first six
verses of Revelation 3, the Spirit, through John, spoke to the church in Sardis
who strayed from the lessons they learned. The Holy Spirit stated they must
return to what they learned. Not everyone in Sardis, though, had strayed. To
those whose names God wrote in His book, He calls them His children. Further in
the chapter, we see the church at Laodicea vacillating between being workers
for God and being lazy. The Father wants them to choose which they want to be –
followers or not - because being both does not glorify Him nor give them a good
reputation. God through the Holy Spirit reminded them they could do nothing for
themselves; they would be poor and blind without Him. The church at
Philadelphia working for the Lord, contrasts with the churches at Sardis and
Laodicea. They did not shut the door the Father opened. The Philadelphians guarded
His message, proclaimed it, and not denounced Him. In Revelations 3, John said God
would make those who served themselves and Satan bow before the church at
Philadelphia. That was the reward for the Philadelphian church’s faithfulness
and obedience. He further promised to keep the congregation at Philadelphia
safe from the trials and tribulations that will come and test the
whole world. God makes His point at the end of Revelation 3. He rebukes,
corrects, convicts, and convinces people of their wrong, not to castigate them,
but because He loves them. He is the God of love.
God loves us so much He did
a new thing; He sent His Son, Jesus, to die because of the sin of humanity. The
judgment for sin is death. The Father showed His power over death by
resurrecting Jesus from the dead three days after His mortal death. God showed
He has power over everything. That is the “new thing” alluded to in Isaiah and
which the churches at Sardis, Laodicea, and Philadelphia learned.
The Father asks you to
be “enthusiastic and earnest and burning with zeal.” (Rev. 3:19b [Amplified
Bible]) He does not want us to be sleepers or fence-straddlers as the people of
Sardis and Laodicea were. God calls us to be as the church of Philadelphia, to
be guards of His message, holding fast with patience and endurance (Rev.
3:8-10). He wants us to venture everything we have in total abandon with Him,
with endurance. Remember, He who faced sin and died was powerful enough to
defeat sin and death and live again. Jesus gives this power to you and me. His
power makes our perseverance happen. This perseverance, because of our
relationship with Him, because of our faithfulness in telling the Gospel, is
what brings Him glory. Our being in a relationship with God is our purpose and
brings the Father glory. “He who is able to hear let him listen to and
heed what the Holy Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 3:22 [AMP]).
